


swept me out to sea

by indi_go



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-10
Updated: 2015-07-10
Packaged: 2018-04-08 14:31:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4308774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indi_go/pseuds/indi_go
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>500 meters later, you're kissing him full in the locker room. His fingers flutter around your shoulders, and your whole body loosens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	swept me out to sea

Haru lay underneath the surface of the water in the tub. You slide the door again, a ritual. "Haru." A couple steps forward and you shoot him a knowing look. He can't hear but he senses your presence and bubbles a response. The water muffles it but you can tell it's a disgruntled "mmph."

It's become a daily routine, this fishing. He's expressed his reticence to you before in words, in rare moments of deep emotion. "Rin," he says, slurping and trying to hide the tears in his eyes, "I don't want to be ordinary." You know his fears are unfounded; you want to let him see himself from your perspective. Instead you kiss him silly and whisper "you are a light in the dark, you are the least ordinary person I've met" until the oceans in his eyes are deep once more and the tide of tears has receded.

Still, he sinks below the surface every morning, bubbling away. You shoot him another harpoon with your eyes to fish him out of the water. He dodges it. "C'mon, Haru. You've got practice in an hour..." You see the look in his eyes and know you're not making headway.

He was obstinate; you knew that. You knew that when you dragged his sorry ass to Australia and showed him what he was missing. He sat on the edge of the fountain, lost, dazed, and hopeless. "Rin, what are we doing?," he asks. You jump to him and grab his hand and pull him forward. 

"Wait and see. You'll understand soon."

The hotel fortuitously books you to share a bed, even though outwardly you'd rather not think about it. As sleep approaches, you turn to Haru, sound asleep, and kiss him on the forehead. "I like you a lot. Please stay true," and you know he understands. You drag him to see the closest thing you have to parents, and he shifts uncomfortably. Lori and Russell ask you if you have a girlfriend. You turn beet red and they know you're thinking about him.

"Do you want to swim?," you ask, at the olympic pool in Sydney. He stares noncommittally. You grab the sides of his head, and force eye contact. "Do you want this?" and you know he understands what you mean when he cracks a weak smile.

"Yeah."

500 meters later, you're kissing him full in the locker room. His fingers flutter around your shoulders, and your whole body loosens.

He loosens too, afterward, knowing you're there, fully and without reservation. He's there for you when you spend a year in Australia to train, and when you miss him desperately. He misses you too, though he hides it in glances off-camera. You embrace in Narita airport after a year, onlookers be damned. That night, you hum yourself happy between his knees, and in the afterglow he tells you he loves you.

He shoots you another sheepish look from underwater. "Fine," you grumble.

You take off your clothes, and settle behind him in the tub. Work can wait. For now, you're content in building an oasis of bubbles.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to madridistagoblue and ignite_pass_tetsuya for betaing for me. this is greatly improved for your help
> 
> this is a fill for saso br3. make sure to check out [the songs that prompted](https://sportsanime.dreamwidth.org/4771.html?thread=1880483#cmt1880483) this ficlet!


End file.
